Fuchsia Friday

This morning I did a lot of cutting back in the garden and some admin. This afternoon was a U3A photography meeting with lots of great photos. 

Day 550 / Day 61 of Step 4 of Roadmap Easing (for my record only)
The R no. for Eng remains at 0.9 to 1.1. In the weekly ONS infection survey in private households to w/e 1/9, 1 in 80 had the virus in England (down slightly); 1 in 60 in Wales (up a tad); 1 in 45 in Scotland (unchanged) and 1 in 75 in NI (down). From 4th October travel rules will change in England so there is just the red list, and fully vaccinated people arriving in England will no longer have to take pre-departure tests. From the end of October, fully vaccinated passengers from non-red list countries can replace day 2 PCR tests with lateral flow tests (if positive, they'll have to take a PCR test as usual). I don't understand why you'd let people into the country or to travel on a plane without a lateral flow test.- bizarre, the Govt seems to think the jab prevents you getting the virus, but it only reduces the likelihood by 50%. 8 red list countries are being removed from the red list including Turkey from 22nd Sept. Red list rules remain for mandatory quarantine in a Govt approved quarantine hotel. In Wales, all over 18s will have to show the NHS Covid Pass from 11th Oct to enter nightclubs and attend large events. Italy is making a vaccine passport compulsory for all workers. £2.8bn of PPE is not fit for purpose and cannot be used by the NHS - talks with the suppliers are on-going. A trial is to be undertaken to see if 12-16 year olds will need a 2nd jab and if so which one.